


Bond Points

by Ludella



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chapter 65 Spoilers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-14 16:35:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11211963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ludella/pseuds/Ludella
Summary: After not hearing from Taako for far too long, Kravitz finally is able to meet up with the wizard after the events of both Wonderland and the Lunar Interlude. When he imagined meeting Taako's family, it didn't involve him confronting a sentient umbrella.An AU where the bond points in TSC have to do with the 'grounding' needed to become a lich. And Taako makes some drastic decisions during a "romantic" reunion.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> took some liberties with taako's reactions to the stolen century. I defo don't think this is how shit plays out LOL but it's fun to imagine.

Kravitz didn't pay much attention to his stone of far-speech. In his line of work, the Raven Queen had her own ways of contacting him if needed, thus the only contact he got from it were fantasy butt dials or the rare Taako. It really was just for Taako. The elf would call him every now and then, rarely without express purpose unless they were making plans.

It had been a while since the three world wreckers returned from their last triumph, and also since Taako and Kravitz had their first unofficial date. Which lead into a second and, accidentally, a third. Suddenly there were more calls just for talking, and Kravitz made a habit of randomly dropping by whenever he was free from work just to ‘chill out’ on the moon base.

A few months in, he had grown far too attached to the other far too quickly. In retrospect it was to be expected; Kravitz didn’t have many friends from his line of work, and now that he had invested a great deal of emotions in one person? It was no wonder he seemed to always be thinking of what they should do next time they met and anticipating his stone calls.

Fourth date, fifth date, and they stopped counting as they met up whenever was convenient. Long conversations that drew well past nighttime, watching the world spin below as two closed off men began to slowly open each other up. Kravitz’s walls had been up so long he’d forgotten they’d existed, that it’d feel so good to let them down around somebody. It was the same for Taako--or, he had so hoped.

Weekly visits, expected dinners. Holding hands on walks, and sweet, chaste kisses that were quickly turned deep and heated to save Taako the embarrassment of legitimate emotions. It was all so foreign, so new and exciting and fun. Kravitz couldn’t get enough of it.

And then nothing.

He stopped by the base on night after Taako hadn’t returned his calls for a few days to find their apartments completely empty. A bit of investigation around the offices gave him the answers he needed but knew all along, and it was enough to make his astral organs twist and turn painfully.

They had been sent on another mission, more difficult than the last.

Kravitz poured himself into his work to keep himself distracted. Before they became… involved, he only knew their travels gave him more work as the trio tended to wreck havoc on all rules of the afterlife, dying inexplicably again and again while making light of the entire situation. Now the thought of it made him restless.

Every now and then his mind would play tricks on him while he worked, pretending to hear the crackle of a stone coming to life with an incoming call. His heart would jump for a moment before sinking further down into his chest at the realization it was just his head.

Work was a simple distraction. Kravitz became more efficient, more ruthless as he made quick work disposing of liches and any threats to the natural order of the astral plane. It was similar yo how he used to be before he met the tres horny boys, before he knew anything besides reaping. But now, he was aware of the walls that had been put back up around himself.

One night on patrol, he felt himself beginning to suffer the effects of his constant exertion. Even without a physical body, the astral plane had its similarities, and he felt his soul growing weary from effort alone. From the back of his mind, he heard yet again the phantom crackle of the cruel stone in his pocket that refused to light up anymore. He picked it up from his pocket, ready to throw the damned thing away and be done with it to give himself some peace of mind.

A muffled, loopy voice on the other side stopped him dead in his tracks.

* * *

 “Taako?” Kravitz called immediately as he stepped out of the portal. He hadn't paid attention to the location Taako provided him, and it took a moment for his surprise to register.

This… was not somewhere he was entirely familiar with. It appeared identical to any other cave explorers would travel through at the beginning of their adventure. Thankfully he didn’t have to worry about seeing through the darkness, and took a moment to assess his surroundings. There was nothing immediately alarming, no traps, no glyphs, no malicious presence--

His scythe was in his hand in a moment. “Who goes there? Show yourself!” He was familiar with this feeling in particular. The same presence that caught him off-guard throughout his dates with Taako hadn’t given up, but never had it been this strong.

“Just us, hombre.”

For once, Taako’s voice didn't immediately calm him. He turned to see where the wizard was sitting and inhaled sharply at the sight. The dangerous feeling from earlier only enhanced.

The elf held up a new stone of far-speech and wiggled it in the air. “Had to snatch a burner.”

Taako was here, just as he said he would be, leaned up against the wall of the cave near him. Like after every mission, he was covered in a new multitude of scars, but something was… different. He appeared less lively altogether, both physically and mentally.

He seemed just as alive as the skeleton he was sitting next to.

“Taako… why are--” As Kravitz made to step closer to him, Taako reflexively wrangled his umbra staff to point upwards before a burst of fire came shooting out. Unlike the other times the umbrella had attacked him (which was becoming a trend), Taako actually laughed, as pitiful as the noise was. He twirled the staff in his hands playfully, still not making eye contact.

“I've told you, this one's good,” he hummed quietly and it took Kravitz a moment to realize he was speaking directly to the staff. His astral body ran colder at the sight of him stroking it fondly, and he didn't move for fear of the moment.

Something had happened during his last mission.

A lot had.

He lowered his voice this time before speaking. “Taako… you called me here for a reason, didn't you?”

Taako went still, body stiff with mimicked rigor mortis. He didn't bother to answer Kravitz immediately.

Kravitz continued to speak. “The outside… is chaos. Plants across the world have withered, the wind has stopped, the skies grey… life drained from the very people you have worked to save.” As he spoke, he grew more desperate, recognizing his words were having no effect on the other. This was all information Taako was aware of. And it seemed he didn’t much care for it at all. “If you know what's going on… I need you to explain it.”

“I'm not who you think I am.”

“Then tell me who you are.”

It wasn’t too much of a surprise to Kravitz. During the months they had spent together going back and forth on dates getting to know each other, he had gone from believing Taako an extremity to a normal person. That’s what had been so enticing about him, initially; the idea an ordinary elf had gotten so caught up in this out of nowhere and went along with it so easily. The idea that someone… normal was able to approach and seek Kravitz out personally had been a great comfort, even.

As time passed, the lingering fear that there was more at work behind the scenes crept up from the far ends of his mind. The more he talked with him about his friends, watched him meditate peacefully at night, and felt the elf cling to his arm, a chill irregular even for his undead temperature crawled down his spine. He could never place it and never once tried to--he didn’t want to break the incredibly delicate ‘something’ growing between them that he had grown to cherish.

Unbeknownst to him, something darker was growing in the background the more he ignored it as well. And now it had taken over the both of them.

Taako stared down at the umbrella in his hands, fiddling with the ends of the cloth for lack of anything to do. “You were there too, in Wonderland. Didn’t you see anything with them big ol’ skull sockets of yours?”

Connecting that “Wonderland” was probably where Kravitz had found himself being nearly consumed by an fearsome black force he had never encountered before. Albeit briefly, he had been able to acknowledge the presence of others within the plane and hoped they would provide him help--only to be abandoned by two of the only mortal “friends” he had made. He didn’t hold it against them, per se, but it had definitely not helped his mood at the time. Even if he were upset about it, the state Taako was in now was enough to quell any residual grudge he had.

“No,” he said, taking a cautious step towards the elf, “I didn’t. The Raven Queen sent me to the area with reports of--I’m sure you know better than I do. I was nearly swallowed by that… blackness, that--”

“Hunger,” Taako provided.

“So you do know what it is.”

He rubbed the material of the umbrella between his thumb and forefinger quietly. “All too well.”

“Taako, please,” Kravitz finally took the first move, closing the gap between them swiftly as he walked over to where the elf was sitting. Like this, he could get a better look at the skeleton sitting on his other side and felt nonexistent bile rise in his throat when he noticed Taako was (oh, gods…) holding its hand.

This was nothing he hadn’t dealt with before. (But it’s Taako). He fell to one knee a foot away from him, still giving the man space.

“What happened in there?”

“What, in Wonderland?”

Kravitz nodded.

Taako scoffed. “Baby shit compared to everything else,” he mumbled. “I… we got word there was another relic in there, so the heroes we be step right on in. Weird shit, that place, but I kinda digged it. Dug it? Two super hot elves ran the places--turns out they were not so hot liches, as things go.” He paused his story and hummed to himself, worrying his lip between his teeth. “We killed them, don’t worry about that.”

Kravitz couldn’t help but exhale a breathy chuckle. “You do demolish eighty-percent of the people you come in contact with--I had no doubts.”

Though a small smile tugged at Taako’s lips the entire time, they never grew into his regular grin. “Yeah, uh, duh… we… a lot happened in there, shit, I barely even got time to process it and now I gotta--” He let go of the skeleton’s hand to run it through his hair, causing Kravitz to notice he had set his hat on the skull of his… guest.

“You don’t--you don’t have to talk about it if you aren’t ready. Not all of it, but… please, Taako,” he reached out to put his hand over the one holding his umbra staff and immediately felt the object heat up in retaliation. He didn’t let go. “Not just for work, I’m worried about you. Let me try to help you.”

All at once, Kravitz felt the cold weight of the cave around him, dissimilar to the warm air of Taako’s room where they had slept together when the wizard was too drunk to let go of him. He felt the eerie stillness of the hand he held and remembered how Taako shook while opening up about Sazed and the show, refusing to discuss it without his back turned to him. A stone cold, closed off expression on the face that had broke into laughter after the awkwardness of some prank he pulled on the grim reaper became too much to pretend.

“I re-introduced you to Magnus and Merle the last time we hung out,” Taako said after a long few minutes of silence. “I figured you’d show up again and it was best to get it out of the way then before you said something stupid in the middle of a battle.”

“They were fine with it, weren’t they…?”

“Oh, they knew from day one, my dude,” he snorted. “Think they thought I’d get some afterlife discounts for us. Get ‘em a cool underworld condo, two bedroom three bathrooms--ha, do ghosts even… nevermind.”

Kravitz’s heart sunk. Taako never passed up a chance to make a horribly inappropriate joke.

“Point is… there’s someone else I should’ve introduced you to, before them. But because of some shit, I... forgot about her.”

For the first time since he stepped out of his portal, Kravitz finally met Taako’s eye.

The wizard gave a halfhearted smile. “You’ve already met, though. Meet my shittiest sister, Lup.”

Taako lifted his umbrella with both hands and held it out to Kravitz to see. Before he could even question it, the instrument opened itself up with a ‘puff’ that had more character than he expected an inanimate object to have.

“You… have a sister?”

“Twin,” he corrected. “Ironic, huh? I told you about all that shit in my past, how I was all alone on the streets for a hundred years until I was old enough to work… and it was all wrong.” Taako lifted the umbrella high above them, leaning his head back against the cave wall as it twirled itself in his hand. He even managed to smile, albeit bitterly. “She was there the entire time, Krav… my twin sister, out on the streets, sleeping in alleys, stealing from rich assholes. I thought I was pathetic before, but really, it’s hard to think I had believed I made it anywhere by myself without her.”

Suddenly he was taken back a number of months to their first date when the all too familiar feel of a lich startled him out of the good mood they were having. He turned around to find Taako just barely managing to aim his firecracker staff into the air, explaining it had just “gone off” without his control.

It was a fantastical world, he could believe most things presented; especially from one as unique as Taako.

But the explanation itself was a problem.

“They forced me to forget about her,” he continued, pulling Kravitz from his thoughts. When he looked back over at Taako, he had tucked his umbra staff in and laid it on his lap, head turned to stare at the skeleton beside him. “Pretty fucked up, right? I thought I was all alone, and for so long I was--but I finally found her.”

“Taako--”

“She and I are two sides of the same coin, y’know? We were each other’s impulse controls, though she was kind of better at everything than I was--besides cooking. I taught her all of that. We would swindle dudes out of their shoes for the fun of it, switched places all the time since we were identical. Fuck, man… she was--is, my best friend, my heart, and all--hey, shut up… it’s been a while.”

Kravitz raised a brow when Taako seemed to trail off before realizing he was communicating with the girl in question. The smile he wore was one he had only seen in the most intimate of moments when most of his walls were down. Even still, this one was brighter.

Taako let out a watery laugh at something he presumed “Lup” must have said, and Kravitz worked up the nerve to speak.

“Taako… for your sister to be inhabiting a material object, she’s--”

“A lich. I know--I helped her.”

“Then you know what telling me this means.”

“I do.”

His entire body tensed at the ease with which Taako declared war. The wizard didn’t move at all, focused on the identical set of bones by his side instead.

Kravitz had had a number of difficult bounties. He tore undead children from their mourning parents’ arms, dragged a forlorn lover to the underworld while her partner screamed in a way he had not known any creature was capable of. Entire families were ruined for the sake of order, and he marched with a line of empty souls as they realized their god had been false all along.

His job was one which required either a hardened heart or none at all, and he had tried so hard to make it stone.

But all it took was one crack for water to seep in and freeze.

“What will happen when this is over?” Kravitz asked instead, his voice lowered to a whisper.

Taako didn’t budge. “Our ‘over’s are different.”

He could feel the anger rising within his chest, now, frustration growing into a cold boil. ‘Look at me,’ he wanted to say, but he knew what he had been called here for now.

Over the past few months, Kravitz struggled to relearn an index of mortal emotions he had forced himself to forget. Lighthearted happiness, friendship, excitement, love… and now, unexpectedly, the anger he had managed to keep with him throughout his immortal position felt more mortal now than ever.

“No.”

He could see the umbra staff buzzing from its place on Taako’s lap, ready to fight.

“Taako…” Kravitz bravely reached out, grabbing for Taako’s shoulder despite the latter’s reluctance to engage with him. “Have I not also been with you, as well...? Why do you give up so easily, now of all times?”

“You for real, dude?” Taako scoffed and turned to level Kravitz with an uncharacteristically serious stare. “What page of the fucking audiobook of ‘Bad Reasons to Date the Grim Reaper During the Apocalypse’ do you want me to pick up on? My sister’s a lich, I’ve died dozens of times, I just remembered a whole _century’s_ worth of reasons for you to scythe me right now?”

“Stop--”

“ _You_ stop!” Taako threw his hands up in exasperation. “By all accounts I should be your greatest enemy! Don’t worry though, soon as I get my ass killed in this ‘saving the world’ thing, we’ll see each other again real damn soon, see how it goes that time--”

“Taako.”

Unable to help himself, Kravitz felt the skin of his hand on Taako’s shoulder begin to peel away to its skeletal form. By the look on his face, Kravitz assumed a few holes must have opened up on his face as well.

“You’re not the only one who has a say in this; it’s both of us. You can’t decide what’s best for both of us by yourself.”

A wry smile twisted Taako’s face. “Can’t I, though? When it’s as obvious as this, it makes sense. I don’t remember you being such a romantic, Krav.”

“Stop that.”

“What?”

“Trying to make me mad at you.”

After centuries of avoiding argumentation with targets, it was only natural to learn how to deal with them when they came up. Albeit this was the first big disagreement they had had since the beginning of their relationship, he supposed they were founded on a battle anyways. Kravitz met his eye with a steady gaze, unwavering in his resolve which alone seemed to shake the other. Taako appeared a dead leaf, only prepared to either fly away or be crumpled at the slightest contact.

With all the care of domesticating a wild animal, Kravitz brought the hand on his shoulder slowly up to cup Taako’s jaw in his palm. “I don’t want to give up on… this. And especially not for those reasons.”

Kravitz had the memories of the people in his mortal life wiped once he came under work of the Raven Queen--of his own volition, as to not become an issue with the job. Even so, he remembered experimenting with romance, dating a nice girl or guy for a few months before it came to a natural end. Nothing disastrous or traumatizing, per se, but it had been enough to provide perspective.

With all the people he met in the Astral Plane in his centuries of afterlife, this was the first time any attempt at romance felt… real. Ironic that it would be a mortal to prove it to him. And one who specifically was determined to go off and save the world, just his luck.

It was with great surprise that Kravitz found Taako moving towards him, brushing off the hand on his jaw in favor of shoving his head face-first into Kravitz’s shoulder.

They remained silent for what may have been either one minute or ten. Kravitz was content to sit and feel the warm breath of his lover on his shoulder while he could, knowing things would be changed after this. “What the hell am I supposed to do, man…?” Taako finally murmured. “Everything has gone to shit, right when we thought things were over and we could be at peace.”

Kravitz brought his arms up and around Taako’s back. “I wish I could tell you. But just because everything else has--gone to shit doesn't mean this does too.”

“Doesn’t it?” Taako laughed dryly. “You’d think ‘dating death’ would be enough of a life accomplishment and I could stop there… You know, surprisingly, I didn’t call you here to fight with you.”

“Then why?”

He remained silent, adjusting his position so he could set the umbrella down and wrap his arms around the reaper as well. It was new for them; Taako always avoided any emotionally intimate displays that weren’t post coital. Just a kiss on the cheek with pure intentions would have him at a loss for words, and the only time they had ever held each other like this was after sex.

“Just trying to make some good memories.”

Kravitz let the moment wash over them then, not needing to say anything else. In the back of his mind he noticed the threat of the lich--Taako’s sister, was slowly dissipating. He brought his hand up Taako’s spine and slowly pressed it back down to soothe him. They had shown each other their vulnerabilities briefly, but never like this. Never like this, and Kravitz planned to cherish what they could now while they had time left. While he could still feel the warmth of his favorite mortal body pressing against him, leaning his entire weight on top of him, this is what mattered.

“We’ve already lost our home,” Taako murmured after a few minutes into his neck. “We watched it get devoured as we were the only ones safe. This is the longest we’ve been able to stay in a new world, and it’s… been pretty chill. Yeah, pretty damn cool…”

“You could make it your home. With everyone.” Kravitz had lingered around the moonbase enough to see all the people the three travelers had met during their journeys. A glance could tell how much they all meant, and what powerful bonds had been established between all of them. In a way, he was envious, but knew that if they managed to continue a life together, it was all something within even Kravitz’s reach with time.

Taako scoffed as he began to pull away from the embrace. “I’ve got to protect it first--can’t live somewhere that don’t exist, duh.” Kravitz remained on the ground, watching as Taako retrieved his umbra staff and finally stood to his feet with a small amount of trouble.

The elf took a moment to regard the skeleton of his sister by his feet, took a deep breath, and took his hat back from atop her skull.

“...y’know, Krav,” he began, only looking at the reaper over his shoulder. “It’s been a lot of fun. It’s pretty cheesy, and I _will_ obliterate you if you speak a word of this to anyone… but I’ve met a lot of cool people here.”

Kravitz made his way back onto his feet and watched as Taako began to slowly make his way to the center of the cave room.

“Made a lot of friends, lots of tough shit, too. It really sucks it took this long for everything and we only got a couple minutes together.”

He felt his brows furrow together in confusion as his stomach fell to his feet. “Taako, what are you going to d--”

In one fluid motion, the wizard lifted his umbra staff off the ground and dug the point into the dirt. At once, the loose dust and rubble was sent flying off of the ground and to the sides of the room, revealing an all too familiar rune pattern beneath Taako’s feet.

One Kravitz had seen too many times during his bounties.

“Wish we could've had one last really good day, my man. Thanks for the bond points. I’ll save this weird world for you, no need to thank me--”

“What do you think you’re _doing_ , Taako?!” Kravitz shouted, the malevolent presence of Lup rising again as he collected his scythe in hand. He knew he could never use it, no, but--he couldn’t do nothing. “What you’re doing is irreversible, you’ll never be able to go back, you’ll lose yourself completely!”

Taako laughed as Lup instinctively crowded them together inside of a barrier. “Babe, no offense, but I’m tired of looking back in the past.” The magic circle on the ground was already activated, and for a moment, Kravitz saw in his mind the image of two people atop the same pattern, an unknown man and Taako--no, that must’ve been Lup, before the two figures collapsed on the ground.

He couldn’t let this happen, not to him of all people, gods, anybody but him. Kravitz knew more than anyone what it meant to be a lich, the neverending despair and loss of control, self, identity, everything. Everything you once stood for disappeared in the wake of power--it couldn’t be Taako. It couldn’t be that bright, silly elf who succeeded in being the only person to make him laugh in centuries.

He wouldn’t let him kill the one person he held dear.

“There are other ways to do this, stop trying to fight this by yourself!” Kravitz called over the hum of an excited spell reverberating off the walls of the cavern. He could hardly stand the sight of Taako, smile slackened and _emotional_ , legs shaking. “You have me, surely the forces of the Raven Queen as well as Lady Istus--what power could be greater than any gods?!”

Taako simply laughed, leaning on his staff for support as he put a hand over his chest.

“Pft, haven’t you heard? I’m Taako--from TV!”

And he fell.

Face first, Taako collapsed onto the stone floor of the cave and the only noise in the cave was Kravitz’s hurried footsteps, a ‘thump’, and the clatter of an umbrella hitting rock.

He was so close, just enough to kneel and pull Taako’s limp form into his lap.

No. “Not him,” he whispered, feeling his neck for a pulse that couldn’t be found in either of their bodies. With a bony hand that was slowly losing its skin, Kravitz patted his cheek, shook his shoulders, and grew increasingly frustrated.

How could he have let the one person who mattered most receive the worst fate imaginable? There was no greater disturbance than the sight of ever bright, ever goofy and  _alive_ Taako lifeless and gone. Kravitz had always feared he might not survive a mission, but for this? To die because of this? He couldn't accept it--it was too uncharacteristic.

A powerful, threatening presence slapped him out of his reverie. At once, Kravitz turned to face the intruder, Taako’s corpse held tight to his chest as he shielded the both of them with his scythe.

As he feared, it was the one thing worse than Taako dying; him succeeding.

Two red-robed figures loomed overhead, one still while the other threatened to go out of control. He had faced this before; a lich was always the most unpredictable once it had first formed and did not yet know the boundaries of its power. This was also the time they were most defenseless, and Kravitz had waged many a battle against an unknowing lich the minute they were formed. The hand on his scythe shook uncharacteristically.

Slowly, the tamed robe approached the other, the two battling without words as it reached to grab onto its bony arm. Streaks of red lightning seemed to drip from its form, nearing the point of no return where a lich grew conscious of its power and how to use it. Just a few moments… Kravitz tightened his grip on his scythe. A few moments, and it was no longer Taako, he would have to stand up and fight. He glanced down at the corpse growing cold in his arms. A few moments and he would have to fight.

And then, it was over. The threat emanating from the second red robe ceased at once, and it turned side to side as if unused to its form. The one that had controlled it made another grab for its hand, this time gaining its attention long enough to point at where Kravitz was kneeling on the floor.

They were in a deadlock, facing each other, and Kravitz was at a loss of what to do. He couldn’t make a decision, not like this, not right now. Why hadn’t they attacked him yet? He was their natural enemy, Taako should know that. If they wanted to be free, to do whatever it was they were planning to do, the next course of action would be to get rid of him first.

As the spectre began to move, Kravitz felt his instincts kick in. He was professional with his work, and he was efficient; never did he have any reason to be afraid of what he had been hunting for so long. Yet it was the only emotion he was sure he could feel sinking into his bones, surer than the pallid skin of the elf he tried to will back to life.

Just as suddenly as the lich had begun to approach him, it stopped right before him and seemed to melt away.

Kravitz was only allowed a moment of confusing before he felt a pair of familiar arms wrap around his neck, pulling him down to loudly plant a kiss on his lips.

He heard Taako laugh goofily as he pulled away, grinning in his arms. “Gotcha, gloomy!” he said, holding Kravitz’s chin in his hands to keep their eyes locked.

Kravitz was nothing if not stunned. He looked between the lich hanging in the air a few feet from them and Taako, somehow alive again and sitting in his lap. “You… no, how did you…”

“I told you, gods haven’t got _shit_ on this wizard.” He didn’t give Kravitz a chance to reply and dragging him back down by his neck for another obnoxiously loud kiss. And god if Kravitz didn’t hold onto him for dear life, ironically, arms wrapped so tightly around the elf’s shoulders and back that he may actually hurt him.

Taako was nothing if not surprising. It’s what made him who he was, and today had only reinforced the feelings Kravitz had been ashamed to think. Now, he couldn’t understand how one could not invest all their emotions in this man who made miracles occur just by sneezing.

When he pulled away, Taako had to push Kravitz off of him and stared up at the reaper with a silly grin that slowly turned sympathetic. “Maybe things’ll go better in another life, handsome.”

And once again, with all the lackluster finality imaginable, Taako fell limp once again and Kravitz watched in shock as the second red robed lich appeared before him once again. The first drifted up to it, grabbing its shoulder with a nod.

The lich--no, Taako, lingered for a few more moments, staring right back at the grim reaper. Finally, Kravitz allowed his scythe to dissipate, and stood with Taako’s mortal body cradled close to his chest. “I’ll keep it safe,” he said, loud enough the other lich--Lup, could also hear him. “So you have somewhere to return when all this is done, Taako.”

He nodded, turning to his sister as she began to pull him up towards the ceiling of the cave.

Kravitz heard himself before he realized he was speaking. “Taako!” he called out.

They immediately stopped, watching him from above as he struggled to find his next words.

He coughed partly to keep himself from getting emotional, and also preparing his best signature Cockney accent. “Go rip those thugs a new one, babe!”

Taako’s lich form lit up in delight, making a variety of crude hand gestures and finally blowing an exaggerated kiss downwards at the same time Lup’s skeletal hand collided with the top of her hood in exasperation. Kravitz couldn’t help but laugh at the two and waved up at them as best as he could, watching in surprising calmness as Taako gave one last bow at his waist before the two disappeared. If Lup had given him a reluctant thumbs up, it was nearly lost when she flipped Kravitz off as they left.

He had let two liches go. He basically _helped_ one of the most powerful wizards become a lich, and didn’t try to stop him from just walking out. And yet, Kravitz felt today more than ever he had done enough to protect the world.

Adjusting the body in his arms, Kravitz smiled at Taako’s corpse as determination set in.

There was a lot left he still had to do. And he was going to get that boy back no matter what.


	2. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just assume taako gets his memories back easily because of some shit they do with fisher or whatever fuck i don't know i only realized that after i wrote this. they have control over the entire planar system they figure it out
> 
> thanks for responding to the first part of this, i hope this epilogue is enjoyable as well!!!

The events ensuing his meeting with Taako were nothing short of a disaster.

The world appeared to plunge itself willingly into chaos, and not even his goddess had anything that could be done to help. He begged for her to order him and give him something to do, but there was hardly anything to be  _ done _ . For the first time in centuries, she lifted herself from her throne and left on her own business, leaving him completely alone.

The scene would have upset Kravitz more if he were not grateful for the opportunity it gave him. In reality, he knew there was nothing he could do for this world anymore--nobody could do anything, no one besides those three dimwits whom he had grown far too fond of. Even without a clue as to what was happening, he felt somewhat reassured knowing it was those loving doofuses fighting to save their world and nobody else.

It helped that Taako gave him a job.

The sky swirled in messy grays and blacks as if undecided as to which side it was turning. By now, hours into the event, all plant life had since dried up and left him walking on crisp, brown grass. There was no wind at all.

It was a quiet apocalypse.

Kravitz had been preparing for a different future before any of this came about. He had hopes of everlasting peace and bright, stupid faces filling his days for years to come. It was with that hope in mind he gained a goal, and for the first time since working under his goddess, felt his own personal ambitions. He was doing something for  _ himself _ , and the feeling was immaculate.

He was lucky that, on one of his bounties, the lich in question was leaving behind no heirs or kin, and her rather wealthy estate was left to the forces of nature and whatever vultures lived in the village below. Though a few humans came up and inspected the place curiously, all it took from his end was a few parlor tricks to convince the entire town it was cursed--no one bothered after that.

The house was meant to become a home, and Kravitz had worked furiously to furbish it both to his own and one other’s liking.

Said ‘other’ now laid limp in his arms, body cold and lifeless as Kravitz’s movements jostled him around. This was the mission he had been given, and by gods did he plan to carry it out flawlessly. That blasted elf was the center of his supposed future, after all--having him alive would certainly help.

There was an irony in the way Kravitz carried his lover over the threshold and laid him into a bed intended for the both of them. He intended to do the same all over again once this ridiculous end of the world was finished. For now, he undressed Taako’s near frozen body carefully and prepared cleaner, more comfortable clothing for him to ‘rest’ in while he waited. He did the same for himself, winding down in a loose fitting shirt and pants before sitting himself on the edge of the bed where the corpse laid.

This was all temporary, he assured himself while taking a frozen hand in his own. Usually Taako would complain about Kravitz being too cold without any warming spell--the thought makes his heart twist unfairly.

It didn’t take long for the silence of the outside to finally erupt into a cacophony of madness.

All at once, he saw the natural light in the room dim as the sky outside turned a familiar inky black. There was a loud ‘bang’ and the ground began to rumble, disturbing the smaller decorations in the room. If he had been in the village, he was sure the chaos would have driven him mad.

As a grim reaper, Kravitz became sensitive to the presence of death in the world.

And he was currently swimming in it.

Out there, the first person he really loved was fighting for his and all of their lives. Kravitz had seen Taako both in the heat of the moment and during his training before, enough to have a good picture of what was going on. Knowing he was somewhere facing whatever great force started this while making stupid dick jokes with Magnus and Merle was his only comfort now. He could practically hear the three of them laughing from here.

Yet he was still haunted by everything he had witnessed hours ago. If there was ever a time for Taako to fall out of his previous self, it was now that they were facing their most difficult battle of all time and he had become a lich.

He was now in love with the one thing he was destined to hunt for eternity. Kravitz glanced down at the face of the corpse in bed beside him; Taako really was determined to make this relationship as difficult as possible, wasn’t he?

Another quake shook the earth, and Kravitz finally took action. He slowly positioned himself to lay down beside the elven corpse in his bed, wrapping an arm around his waist before he fell into deep meditation. He hadn’t had need of a spell like this in a long time, and the feel of a barrier being cast around him was more foreign than familiar despite being his own magic. Everything today felt wrong and new.

Somewhere, Taako was battling with all of his life’s worth, and he entrusted his body to Kravitz specifically to take care of. The carcass in his arms was a promise he planned to return to him, eventually, and Kravitz would hold him to it.

Taako had already died nineteen times, now twenty since he left his mortal body behind.

After this, Kravitz thinks, there probably won’t even be a twenty-first; if a single elf could live through everything he had through sheer will and grit alone, nothing could kill him.

It’s the only comfort he managed to hold onto while waiting out the end of the world.

* * *

 Kravitz lost himself in his meditation easily. It had been a long time since he had to use protection magic, and even longer since it was on somebody other than himself. When he eventually came to, the first thing he noticed was the lack of any expected warmth he hoped to feel from Taako’s body.

The second was a lack of Taako’s body in general.

Kravitz immediately shot up like an arrow from a bow and heard a startled ‘woah, there’ from across the room.

Sure enough, there he was-- Taako, animated and moving around, standing in front of a full length mirror staring back at Kravitz in surprise.

Slowly, a cheshire grin rose to his face. “Guess who just saved your dunk shit world?”

Kravitz waited on the bed for Taako to approach him first. The elf made his way over after fussing over his clothes the other had put him in, slowly climbing on top of the blankets and into a pair of open arms which he quickly found home in. They naturally wound their way into each other, legs locked, Kravitz’s hands holding Taako’s face close, foreheads together, and Taako’s arms around his waist. He always enjoyed the warmth of his living body, but never before had it been such a  _ relief _ .

“I can’t believe it,” he whispered, stroking Taako’s cheekbones with his thumbs. “You actually made it back, and you’re still… Taako. You are you, right?”

Taako snorted and dragged his knuckles up the back of Kravitz’s neck. “As I have assured many of my adoring fans, yes, it’s me, Taako, from--”

“TV.”

“I was gonna say lich city, but hey, I’ll take another testimonial.”

Kravitz laughed easily. This was the only person who could distract him from the end of the world, or what it could have been. Just by being here with him, he knew that everything outside was alright--or, well, there were at least people fixing it. It was the props of dating a hero.

“I’m going to have to pull some major strings for this one,” he hummed, hands sliding down to cup his jaw. He practically felt Taako shiver at his cold fingers and watched his eyelashes flutter   


“Says the puppetmaster who cursed my dick.”

“Don’t ever say that again.”

He could ask about what was happening outside. He could ask about Magnus and Merle and any of their other friends, that little boy they lived with, or anything. But if Kravitz had learned anything from being with Taako, it’s that the information would come to him when it was important. 

It was an odd trust that took a long time to build up.

Slowly, as to not ruin the moment, Taako let go of the reaper and began to sit up. Kravitz followed after him with a hand on his back, pressing kisses into his bare shoulder where the nightshirt had slipped down. “By the way… what is this place, buddy-o?”

“Hm? Oh… just an old bounty hunter’s optimism.”

Taako turned to him with his lopsided smile in place, infecting Kravitz’s face as well.

“There’s nothing  _ optimistic _ about this furniture, darling; thank goodness I’m here to fix it. Though I’ll have to charge you.”

“Oh?”

“I don’t work for free, babe, but let’s see…” He hummed loudly as if he was actually thinking something while looking around the room. When he finally turned back to Kravitz, his eyes lit up. “I think room and board will work.”

He was done speaking then, as no words could make up for him suddenly yanking the lithe elf into his lap and burying his face into his neck. While Kravitz inhaled his warm, living scent, Taako laughed heartily, arms wrapped around his neck and keeping Kravitz where he was.

They actually did it. Those fucking lunatics, the three men who died over a hundred times put together, and they managed to pull themselves to save the entire planar system. It should be hard to believe… but Kravitz had always believed in him. They were the first mortals to catch his attention in so long, after all. A grim reaper’s first impression was the most important. 

He had been so close to losing everything. Kravitz had nearly forgotten how  _ fast _ time went when dealing with mortals, and the pace at which he and Taako began their relationship, nurtured it, and almost watched it fall apart was overwhelming. The relief that everything was finally over now and peaceful took over his better reasoning, forcing his arms to hold the elf closer to him.

They could actually talk about the future now.

There  _ was _ a future now.

“Taako…” he began, speaking with his lips pressed against his neck. Kravitz felt him hum an acknowledgement and pulled away so he could stare the wizard in the eye. With a hand cupping his cheek, Kravitz steeled his resolve. “You know… after everything, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and I… I think I lo--”

A crash downstairs interrupted them, causing Kravitz to sit right up and nearly topple Taako off of his lap had he not been holding him so tightly. Taako’s laugh was only slightly louder than the ruckus occurring outside the bedroom door, and he felt the man in his arms readjust himself to sit more comfortably on Kravitz’s lap right before the door was thrown off of its hinges and across the room in a burst of flames, crashing into the wall.

Kravitz felt his face pale, nearly losing his human skin at the stranger standing in the doorway.

“What the  _ fuck _ is up, homewrecker!”

The bedroom meant for two people was joined by another who looked suspiciously just like Taako, though their posture and expressions were entirely different.

Kravitz recognized her immediately.

She wasn’t an umbrella, this time, and wore Taako’s skin on her face very differently. Where his eyes drooped endearingly, hers were bright and alive with a fire now reflected in her twin’s. She stood tall and proud, hands on her hips as she stared Kravitz down menacingly.

He pressed his lips against Taako’s forehead in a chaste kiss before picking him up off of his lap and onto the edge of the bed as he stood. Straightening his shirt out, he approached the woman sizing him up with a cheshire grin and waited for the telltale tug on his sleeve as Taako joined his side.

Kravitz should have been nervous about standing in front of the person who was undoubtedly the most important to his lover’s world. But he had met her before--twice, now, and they were already familiar with each other a good deal. Although neither meetings had gone well, the fact she was standing here now was proof he had already been accepted. By both of them.

Kravitz stuck out his hand towards her, smiling so wide he feared the butterflies in his stomach might fly out.

With a snicker, she slapped his hand in a firm grip.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Lup.”

The elven woman threw her head back and cackled, gripping his hand so hard she threatened to crush bone.

“Right back atcha, bone daddy.”

**Author's Note:**

> can you IMAGINE if all the boys became liches? and whoever had the most bond points had the easiest time staying in control? fuck it'd be cool
> 
> I don't expect to write anything else for this, but if it gets enough attention I might add an epilogue or something to clear shit up at the end
> 
> if you've got a moment, leave comments and kudos!


End file.
